FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an exemplary computing system 10 that includes a client device 14 and a device 18. The client device 14 may be, for example, a desktop computer, a laptop, a server, and the like. The device 18 may be any appropriate device that may provide one or more services to the client device 14, including but not limited to a printer, a copier, a fax machine, a webcam, a television, a set-top box, a camera, or any other appropriate type of appliance or peripheral. The device 18 may be operatively coupled to the client device 14 through an appropriate link 26, e.g., a universal serial bus (USB) link, a wired or wireless network connection, a Bluetooth connection, a serial port connection, a parallel port connection, and the like.
In order for the client device 14 to fully utilize the functionalities of the device 18, an appropriate driver software typically needs to be loaded, installed, and configured in the client device 14, as is well known in the art. For example, if the device 18 is a printer, a printer driver of appropriate type generally needs to be installed and configured in the client device 14 to enable the client device 14 to access and print to the printer 18.
System 10 of FIG. 1 also includes a driver 22, suitable for device 18, which is available to the client device 14 for loading and installation. In various applications, the driver 22 may be available in an appropriate external storage device, e.g., a CD ROM, a flash drive, etc. Alternatively, the client device 14 may also access the driver 22 from an external server (e.g., a print server), and/or over a network (e.g., using the Internet or an intranet, from a website of the manufacturer or seller of the device 18, etc.).
Thus, in addition to having access to the device 18, the client device 14 or a user of the client device 14 may further need access to the appropriate driver 22. Often, the user of the client device 14 may not be have access to the driver 22 and/or may not be sure about the appropriate driver to be installed. Installing the driver 22 from an external storage, an external server or over a network may also be confusing to the user of the client device 14, as many different types drivers (e.g., if device 18 is a printer, different printer drivers for different types of printers) may be available, from which the user may have to select the correct driver.
Put differently, it may be difficult and/or confusing for a user of the client device 14 to obtain the driver 22. At the least, scouting for a device driver may negatively impact a user's experience, perception and/or satisfaction about the device 18.